Keynote

Southeast Asian countries must brace for headwinds including the longer-term risks of future pandemics and climate change, supply chain disruptions, rising oil and commodity prices, and prolonged geopolitical instability, said Singapore Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, Second Minister for Finance, and Second Minister for National Development Indranee Thurai Rajah at the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) third Southeast Asia Development Symposium (SEADS).

Building Back Better through Inclusive Solutions

With COVID-19 hurting the most vulnerable in Southeast Asia, countries need to focus on solutions that would create opportunities and bolster well-being of people hurt the most by the pandemic, including women and girls and the poor, said leaders at the third Southeast Asia Asia Development Symposium (SEADS).

At the CNBC-moderated opening plenary panel, “Building Back Better through Inclusive Solutions,” speakers agreed on the need for relevant sectors to collaborate to foster an inclusive recovery for the region.

Speakers:

Closing Keynote

To foster recovery, Southeast Asia needs to build up digital capabilities and arm small businesses with the tools to harness technology, said Grab Cofounder Hooi Ling Tan at the third Southeast Asia Development Symposium (SEADS). She also stressed the need to boost the credit access of small business owners and highlighted the role of fintech solutions to improve financial inclusion.

ADB Director General Bruno Carrasco for IDAHOTB 2022

This message is in support of Driving Inclusion - Addressing Legal Barriers for Sexual and Gender Minorities, ADB's online event during the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOTB). In this event, grassroot civil society organizations presented hopeful stories about inclusion among the LGBTQI community, real-life accounts of the pandemic, and wider experiences of CSO representatives from South Asia and Central and West Asia.

Inaugural ADBI Voices of Inclusion Speaker Series Webinar on Gender Equality: ADB’s Chantale Wong

This webinar will inaugurate the new ADBI Voices of Inclusion Speaker Series, aimed at promoting gender inclusion in Asia and the Pacific through knowledge and experience-sharing by influential thinkers. It will feature Chantale Wong, who was recently appointed as the United States Executive Director to the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Smart Cities - Inclusive Cities Capacity Building Program: Stakeholder and Issues Mapping Report

The AASCTF Inclusive Cities Dialogues project provides a space for a wide range of urban stakeholders in and beyond government from cities across seven ASEAN countries to (1) increase awareness towards addressing exclusion, disenfranchisement, and discrimination; (2) facilitate engagement between stakeholders to identify strategi

ADB's Southeast Asia Development Symposium (SEADS 2022): Sustainable Solutions for Southeast Asia’s Recovery

Highlights

The pandemic has had a deep and profound impact throughout Southeast Asia. Many of the region’s hard-won gains in reducing poverty, creating jobs, and enhancing health and well-being have been reversed, with the poor and vulnerable particularly hard-hit.